Tag archives for mountaineering
Video: 50 Years on Everest – Climbers’ Candid Thoughts on the State of the World’s Tallest Peak
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on May 1, 2013 On this day 50 years ago, May 1, 1963, Jim Whittaker became the first American to stand atop Everest, a feat which made him a national hero. A few weeks later, May 22, Tom Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld made the daring first ascent of the West Ridge and the first traverse of the peak, electrifying…
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We often use the New Year to reflect on the year before and instill a new resolve for the year to come. For 2013, this year marks 50 years since Americans first stood atop our world’s highest peak. The climbs on Mount Everest in 1963 stand alone in climbing history and continue to inform our…
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After a summer of training hard in Washington’s Cascade Range, British Columbia’s Waddington Range, and Alaska’s Chugach Range, the Expedition Denali team is poised to embark on their journey to Denali in June 2013. This film clip will give you a brief window into their training this past summer and their thoughts on the upcoming…
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Adventure movie fans fortunate enough to attend 5Point or Mountainfilm festivals in 2012 got a sneak peek of an amazing film project in progress. House of Cards from Camp 4 Productions details the three-year journey of climbers Jimmy Chin, Renan Ozturk, and Conrad Anker as they make an epic first ascent of the Shark’s Fin…
Everest 2012: Pete Athans on the Evolution of Nepali Guides
Posted by Freddie Wilkinson on April 22, 2012 
Few climbers know Nepal like Pete Athans. Beginning in 1981, the Washington-based high-altitude mountaineer has made regular pilgrimages to Mount Everest and other regions of the Himalaya. At last count he had participated in 16 expeditions to the world’s highest mountain, attempted five different routes, and personally summited seven times. Along the way, Athans learned…
Mount Everest: Packing List for the World’s Tallest Peak
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on March 20, 2012 
What do you pack for the world’s tallest peak? Here’s what ski mountaineer Hilaree O’Neill is bringing to Everest, where she is part of our spring 2012 expedition sponsored by National Geographic and The North Face (learn more about the expedition). Though her main objective is to summit via the Southeast Ridge with her teammates,…
News: Nat Geo Spring 2012 Everest Expedition – Climbing, Science, Education
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on March 16, 2012 
Photograph by Cory Richards. As seen from Lhotse, a team of climbers ascending Everest creates a spectacular line of light on the mountain ridge. WASHINGTON—Continuing his legacy of renowned ascents, famed mountaineer and The North Face athlete Conrad Anker is aiming once again for the top of the world as he leads a team of climbers…
Ski Touring the Tetons (Photos): Hiking Up, Shredding Down Teewinot, the Grand, Cloudveil Dome
Posted by Kim Havell on January 26, 2012 
It was a slow start to winter for resorts in the U.S. In order to find snow in the early season, for many passionate skiers, it meant getting creative. Based out of the Wasatch this season, due to drier conditions, I decided to drive north for four to Jackson, Wyoming, to poke around the Tetons…
Everest 2011: Sneaking Through the Turbulent, Tumbling Khumbu Icefall (Photos)
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on April 18, 2011 Text and photographs by Dave Hahn, a guide for RMI Expeditions and First Ascent. In May 2010 Hahn reached the summit of Mount Everest for the 12th time, the most of any a non-Sherpa climber. This time, he is leading a Bill McGahan and his 16-year-old daughter, Sara, on a bid for the summit. Follow the…
Meet the Adventurers of the Year: Alpinist Edurne Pasaban
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on December 20, 2010 Each day we will feature one of the 2010 Adventures of the Year here on our blog. Get to know them all in our photo gallery, then vote for your favorite for the People's Choice award—every day. You can even vote for a new favorite each day, if you can't pick just one. Photograph by Ferran Latorre The Alpinist Edurne…
Best American Adventures: Bag Fourteeners in the Weminuche Wilderness
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on October 8, 2010 We've just updated our popular America's Best Adventures feature with 50 new trips, bringing our grand total to 100 iconic escapes (see the map, state-by-state list, and photo gallery, too). So no matter what your pleasure—hiking, heli-skiing, surfing, climbing, biking, or paddling—we've got the perfect adventure for you. Check in each day for a new,…
Best American Adventures: Climb Mount McKinley
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on October 4, 2010 We've just updated our popular America's Best Adventures feature with 50 new trips, bringing our grand total to 100 iconic escapes (see the map, state-by-state list, and photo gallery, too). So no matter what your pleasure—hiking, heli-skiing, surfing, climbing, biking, or paddling—we've got the perfect adventure for you. Check in each day for a…
Best American Adventures: Ski Mountaineer Mount Shasta
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on September 29, 2010 We've just updated our popular America's Best Adventures feature with 50 new trips, bringing our grand total to 100 iconic escapes (see the map, state-by-state list, and photo gallery, too). So no matter what your pleasure—hiking, heli-skiing, surfing, climbing, biking, or paddling—we've got the perfect adventure for you. Check in each day for a…
Mountaineer Edurne Pasaban: Co-Queen of the 8,000-Meter Peaks?
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on June 23, 2010 This spring, Korean Oh En-Sun and Spaniard Edurne Pasabán became the first women to join the ultimate boys' club—climbing all 14 of the world's 8,000-meter peaks. However, it wasn't long before doubts began to surface regarding whether Oh made it to the true summit of Kangchenjunga. Writer Tetsuhiko Endo tracked down Pasabán at her home in the…
Mountaineering Takes Manhattan: Explorers Club Hosts Elite Climbers For “Mountain Stories”
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on October 16, 2009 On Saturday, October 17th, the Explorers Club in New York City will celebrate those individuals who have braved our planets highest peaks with "Mountain Stories,” a daylong special event featuring presentations by some of the most prominent individuals in mountaineering. The day starts at 9:00 a.m. with a continental breakfast and coffee followed by a…
Climbing’s Latest Losses: An Aborted Rescue, A Fatal Fall, and the Passing of a Legend
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on August 17, 2009 It was a somber weekend for climbers the world over. First, the search for Oscar Perez on Latok II was called off due to the amount of time elapsed since last contact with the injured Spaniard. American and Spanish mountain climbers have been working in conjunction with the Pakistani air force for ten days, in an…
Everest Video Update: Base Camp Summit Bid Launches
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on May 14, 2009 The weather has broken on Everest and after 12 long days of waiting, Ed Viesturs and the First Ascent team are making a move. They left base camp about fifteen hours ago and should be getting close to Camp 2 by now. “I’m a little bit nervous,” admitted Melissa Arnot, who is trying to become…
Everest Video Update: First Ascent Team Prepares For Summit
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on May 7, 2009 Text by Tetsuhiko Endo Alpine-style climbing is a preparation game. Gear must be checked and re-checked, camps must be made and stocked on different levels of a mountain, the body must acclimatize to altitude and the mind must steel itself against cold, fatigue and fear. No one knows this better than the men and women…
Everest First Ascent Update: Viesturs and Whittaker Arrive at Camp 2
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on April 20, 2009 Text by Tetsuhiko Endo Approaching a high mountain is a tricky process. It must be undertaken with great care in order to ensure that climbers will be both physically and mentally prepared when they push into the lethal 8,000-meter realm. With that in mind, the First Ascent team has split up into three separate groups…
Follow the First Ascent Team With NGA
Daily Video, Photos, Dispatches—Direct From Everest
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on April 15, 2009 Photographs by Jake Norton It's an all-star team on an epic journey: Four of the planet's most accomplished mountaineers—Ed Viesturs, Peter Whittaker, David Hahn, and Melissa Arnot—will attempt to climb to the rooftop of the world this spring. The expedition, sponsored by Eddie Bauer's First Ascent Clothing and Gear Line, began its ascent on March 30.…
The Adventure Life with Steve Casimiro
Himalaya Study: High-Altitude Climbing Damages Brain Cells
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on October 17, 2008 Text by West Coast Editor Steve Casimiro High-altitude climbing can cause brain damage that impairs motor skills and memory, reports a study by Italian researchers published this month in the European Journal of Neurology. Exposure to the oxygen-depleted heights of high altitudes reduced the volume and density of “white matter” near what’s called the motor…
Is K2 the New Everest?
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on September 4, 2008 Text by David Roberts On August 1, 2008, in a single disastrous chain of events, 11 climbers were killed high on K2’s Abruzzi Ridge in Pakistan’s Karakoram Range. One of the worst accidents in mountaineering history, it made headlines around the world. Surprisingly, along with outpourings of sympathy for the victims, the tragedy generated a…
News: K2 Accident Update
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on August 4, 2008 Text by Kirkpatrick ReardonPhotograph courtesy Charley Mace, showing Ed Viesturs traversing K2′s Bottleneck News Updates:NG Adventure Blog: K2 Survivor Wilco van Rooijen, In His Own Words New York Times: Chaos on the ‘Mountain That Invites Death’ NPR: Climber Barely Missed K2 Avalanche K2climb.net: ExWeb special: A magic mountain named K2 L.A. Times: Dutch K2 survivor…
